Fraud survey to help fight crime

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Crime-fighting charity Crimestoppers has launched a campaign educating the public about the key scam threats in the UK through an interactive microsite.

Crime figures show a near 60% rise in reported fraud over the past five years boosted by a rise in identity theft and online scams costing the UK economy £63m per year.

To help tackle these crimes the charity has created a Game of Fraud hub featuring an online survey with information on a variety of frauds, including romance fraud, courier fraud and online shopping fraud, that affect the UK public every day.

Through a series of short, simple questions the intuitive quiz identifies which fraud types members of the public may be most vulnerable to and gives a detailed description of how they may be targeted.

The variety of fraudulent activity being carried out by criminals is vast.

Advance fee fraud is where fraudsters target victims to request upfront fees for the release of funds, ask for help to transfer money out of another country or offer fake loans.

It is estimated this affects over 26,000 UK residents every year with sometimes devastating financial consequences.

Romance fraud is also on the rise with nearly 3,000 older men and women falling victim each year. Unsuspecting adults are tricked into thinking they have met their ‘perfect partner’ online, but in truth they are being deceived.

Once the fraudster gains their trust, they ask for money for a variety of emotive reasons in hope that financial support will be offered.

Recently intimate photographs of victims have been used to extort funds from trusting members of the public. Gary Murray, Crimestoppers’ North West Regional Manager, said: “We are hoping that following this campaign the public will change their behaviour in light of the information received and share these insights with friends and family to help them avoid becoming victims.” The Game of Fraud hub can be found at www.crimestoppers-uk.org/gameoffraud.